1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to immersion apparatus for obtaining a sample of molten metal. Such apparatus is generally to be found in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office subclasses relating to measuring and testing, sampler, and toller implements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Metal sampling apparatus of the prior art are generally of two types: those which may be immersed in a bath of metal to obtain a sample and those which may be inserted into a stream of molten metal. The present invention relates specifically to a type of device that is to be immersed for obtaining a sample. In the past, means have been employed including variously configured dippers, suction-type apparatus, tubes and the like. Of these examples, the most common were those that were simply dipped into the bath to obtain a sample. Some had side entry ports which necessarily imposed a limit on a degree of filling the sampler could achieve. This, of course, posed a problem in obtaining a uniform sample for subsequent analysis. In some of the bottom fill apparatus that have previously been used, a degree of difficulty has also been encountered in obtaining uniform samples. This is due to the fact that certain amount of material runout has been experienced due to the location of the entry port at the commencement of the material flow path through the device.